This year, Archie Comics is celebrating its 80th anniversary with surging screen successes and a deep library of beloved characters. This marked a turning point for the company – with two hit shows CW’s Riverdale and Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, running on two networks and major publishing initiatives, Goldwater has been a key part of the creative journey for the shows and has opened the door to seeing the iteration of classic characters represented on TV and beyond.
In addition to this, the CW also recently announced Katy Keene, which reconfirms the viability of shows anchored by Archie characters, including by a mix of diverse characters who are not currently household names.
Goldwater took the reins of the iconic comic book publisher a decade ago and has been the captain of modernizing the internationally-known characters, launching highly-publicized and best-selling stories, introducing the first gay Archie character, infusing horror themes into their comics, female focused stories and publishing an all-new Archie #1, which sold over 100k copies its first month. All these initiatives were met with bold, enthusiastic headlines and a major, significant uptick in sales.
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In short – Jon saved the company, and through this publishing rebirth, has set the stage for the multimedia company we know today with characters populating TV screens and engaging with a new generation of fans. Plus, they have much more on the horizon, including a partnership with Graphic India to develop a Bollywood-style live action movie based on the Archie Comics characters.
The Koalition interviewed Goldwater about his ability to revolutionize classic Archie comic characters, bridging the gap between an older and newer generation, the future for Archie Comics and what it’s like adapting CW’s Riverdale and Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
Check out our interview below.
